Amalgamator



(No Model.)

H. 'MGDOUGALL AMALGAMATOR.

No. 301,253. Patented July 1,1884.

' INVENTOH A W Q, Hugh MF-ozgall By his ./zforneys lhyrrnn drames Parham ernia.

HUGH MCDOUGALL, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

lVlALGAll/IATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,253, dated July l, 1834..

Application filed August 4, 1F83. (No model.)

To all wil/0m t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HUGH MoDoUcAilpt, of Denver, in the county of Arapahoe a-nd State oi' Colorado, have invented an Improved Gentrii'ugal Amalgamator, of which the following is a specication.

The object of myinventionis to separate gold,` from placer, sand, crushed ore, and other finely-divided material by means of a rotary lto apparatus in which the centrifugal force generated causes the material being operated upon to pass in an up-anddown sinuous course over a series of amalgamated surfaces.

In the accompanying drawing, which is an .elevation partly in section through my im-` proved machine, A is the main frame, which may be constructed,as illustrated in the drawing, of beams of timber, or may be made of iron and braced or strengthened in any suitable way. An upright driving-shaft, I3, is provided with a hardened steel spindle, l), which has its bearing in a hardened steel step, O, which may be adj usted, in the usual manner, by screws. rlhe upper bearing of the shaft is in one of the crossbeams A of the frame, and is preferably an ordinary babbitted bearing. A collar, I3", is placed on the sha'l't below its upper bearing, to prevent endwise movement. The shaft is shown as provided with a driving-pulley, I3, but may be actuated by gearing or driven in any suitable manner. On the upper endof the shaft is carried a nest or series of pans, D, placed one within the other, the difference in diameter between the adjoining pans, which is preferably abouttwo inches, leaving a suitable space between the sides of the pans. rlhese pans are slipped on the reduced or turned end ofthe spindle, and are firmly clamped between a flanged collar, E, secured on the end ofthe shaft and a clamping collar or plate, E', which is iirmly drawn down by a nut on the reduced end oi' the shaft. The sides of the pans are inclined, as shown; but the degree of the inclination may be varied within wide limits. In the spaces between the inclined sides of thc pans are suspended correspondingly inclined iircular plates X, the bottom edges of which are about an inch (more or less) from the bottoms of the pans. The pans and plates, which are preferably of the same material, may be made of eration avsmall quantity of mercury is placed in the inner pan, and the centrifugal 'force generated by the revolution vof the shaft will cause the mercury to be distributed over the side of the pan and to rise to its edge. To prevent its passing over the top, however, a small guard-liange, d, is placed upon the rim of the vessel. The fc'edpipe G is adj ustably held in a bearing in the upper part ofthe frame, so that it may be raised and lowered. Its upper end is provided with a funnel or hopper, and a flanged collar, H, is adj ustably secured upon its lower end by set-screws. This collar II may be formed of castfiron or other suitable material, and is amalgamated on -its under face. This flange is about three inches less in diameter than the bottom ofthe inner pan, and can be so adjusted as to leave but a small space between its lower edge and the bottom of the pan. In operation the pans are revolved at a suitable speed by the rotation of the shaft B, and the material from which the gold is to be separated is fed through the pipe lr. As the pans rotate, the sand and such light gold as has not been amalgamated will pass u p over the guard-flange on the pan, and, striking against the lirst suspended plate,will roll down its amalgamated surface, depositing more of its light gold on that surface, to the bottom of the second pan, and up over the amalgamated face of the second pan, down the amalgamated face of the second plate, and so on. rlhe heavy particles oi gold will be retained in the 'Iirst pan, orin thc succeeding ones should they escape from the first. The material thrown l'rom the outer pan may fall into suitable receptacles and be carried away. rlhe gold is recovered from the amalgam and amalgamated surfaces in the ordinary way.

The details oi" the machine are so simple as to be readily understood without more specilic description.

Obviously the structure may be Varied without departing from the method of operation here indicated, which is the main feature oll the invention.

I claim as my inventionMq l. The improvement in the method of dryseparating gold,which consists in causing the IOO material to be passed in au up-and-down sinuous course over-a series of amalgamated surfaces by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the apparatus.

2. The improvement in the method of dryseparating gold by amalgan1ation,which consists in feeding the material to be operated upon into a central pan or receptacle containing mercury, and then ,by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the pan, causing1 the material being operated upon to pass up to and over the edge of the rotating vessel, and so oninto and out of a series of concentric amalgamated vessels, as set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as set forth, ofthe driving-shaft, the nest of pans or receivers having inclined sides, and the inclined plates suspended in the spaces between the pans.

openings between the pans, and a gua1d-iiange on the inner' pan.

5. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the frame, the driving-shaft, a central pan or receiver, and a series of inclined partitions which formeJ series of concentric chambers or spaces around said central pan, through Which the material operated upon is caused to pass by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the apparatus.

6. rlhe combination, substantially as set forth, of the frame, the driving-shaft, the central pan or receiver, the series of concentric chambers or spaces, Lthe feed-pipe which extends down into the central pan, and the iianged collar on the end of the feed-pipe.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub- 40 scribed my name this 31st day of July, A. D.

HUGH McDOUG-ALL. Witnesses:

SETI-r P. BUELL, JACOB W. JENKINS; 

